Bolder Boldest: Longmont's Stephanie McKay not slowing down

McKay, 63, a member of the Bolder Boldest

After all these years, Stephanie McKay wasn't about to let a broken wrist keep her out of the Bolder Boulder.

One of the proud members of the Bolder Boulder Boldest Club -- the group of runners who have participated in every Bolder Boulder -- McKay, 63, broke her wrist during a trail run about five weeks before this year's event.

"It went through my mind as I was sitting in the emergency room, yeah," she said of missing the race, "but there was no doubt that I was going to (participate).

"I thought if I have to walk it, I'll walk it, but I'm going to be there one way or another. No way would I miss it."

tephanie McKay, 63, poses for a portrait with t-shirts from the past 33 years of the Bolder Boulder Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at her home in Longmont. McKay has run every single Bolder Boulder since its start in 1979.
(
Matthew Jonas
)

McKay, a Longmont resident for nearly 40 years, was back on the trails shortly after surgery. In fact, a little more than a week before the Bolder Boulder, she did a nine-mile training run. She'll run the Deadwood Half Marathon in South Dakota six days after the Bolder Boulder.

"I run as much now as I ran in my 30s or 40s," said McKay, who has participated in several marathons over the years. "I started running quite a bit in my 50s."

McKay is also part of a group of area women -- the Dirty Girlz, they call themselves -- that gets together every Sunday to run trails.

No matter how many races she participates in or how many trails she crosses, though, it is the Bolder Boulder that defines her.

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"It's like my claim to fame," said McKay, who still owns T-shirts from every Bolder Boulder.

As the Bolder Boulder Boldest Club decreases in numbers, that claim to fame becomes more and more impressive. Through 2011, the list was down to 68, ranging in age from 39-78. Just nine of those were women.

"It's very special. I'm very proud of it. I really am," she said of being one of the few women left.

This all happened by chance, of course. In 1979, the Bolder Boulder wasn't near what it is today. It was a small community race.

Having just gotten involved with running, McKay decided to sign up. It was just her second 10K race. She didn't even realize she had participated in all of them until 1988, the 10th running of the race.

"That's when they started making a big deal out of it," she said.

The group at that time was under 200, McKay said.

"After year 10, it was like OK, now we can't miss," she said.

Being a member of the club has its privileges. Race entry is free, the club members get invited to a VIP party and there are several gifts each of them get every year.

For McKay, the Bolder Boulder has become a huge event, which has made Memorial Day even more special to her. She has family and friends from Nebraska, Wyoming and other parts of Colorado that visit and turns the race into "a huge three-day party." Every year, she has a pasta party the night before the race.

Still, nothing beats the final mile of the race. That alone could probably keep McKay coming back.

"The best part of it is when you're running up Folsom and you know you've got about a mile left," said McKay, whose goal every year to finish in fewer minutes than her age. "There's people cheering and you know you have that last hill to get up, but by then adrenaline is going so fast it's kind of easy to get up that hill and run into the stadium. It's just a huge thrill."

It's a thrill McKay hopes to feel for years to come.

"I see myself doing it when I'm 85, for sure, or 90," she said. "I'm going to be out there doing it with walking, walking sticks or whatever.

"I'll be walking it someday, probably, and I know that. Right now I'm still able to run and I'm so thrilled that I can still run at this age."

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